Thank you for Committing to Carbon Reduction with ClimateScore!
You’ve invested significant efforts in becoming environmentally conscious and securing a Climate Score® for your hotel or event. These guidelines are made to assist you, your agency, and other partners in integrating the Climate Score® into your marketing materials for your hotel(s) or event.
This document serves as a guide and reference tool, providing ideas to optimize the use of your Climate Score®. By actively incorporating the Climate Score® into your marketing communications, you not only showcase the official validation of your climate commitments but also activate a powerful marketing tool.
The ClimateScore brand is founded on scientifically validated CO2 data and a commitment to continuous improvement, offering hotels and venues a pathway to prioritize climate action, achieve cost reductions, and enhance their eco-conscious reputation.
ClimateScore is a mark of credibility and recognition. As you strategically position any of our ClimateScore badges toward private and corporate travellers, you not only secure an official stamp of proof for your environmental commitment but also access a trustworthy, fact-based brand that resonates with eco-conscious travellers.
Thank you once again for your commitment to a more climate-conscious future, and welcome to the ClimateScore family. Here, we are dedicated to making a positive impact on both the environment and your business success.
Make the most of your Climate Score® badges
Welcome to the guide on maximizing the impact of your ClimateScore badges. Your badges are more than a recognition of environmental commitment; they are robust marketing tools with the potential to elevate your brand, showcase validation, and strategically position your business. This section will provide insights on how to effectively activate your ClimateScore badges to their fullest extent, ensuring that you not only fulfill your environmental commitments but also attract eco-conscious travellers.
Key Benefits of Adhering to the Guidelines
When incorporating ClimateScore badges into your company’s marketing and communication, your hotel or event becomes synonymous with environmentally responsible choices. The ClimateScore badge serves as tangible evidence of your commitment to the environment, providing you with a powerful marketing tool. This aligns your brand with credibility and recognition, enabling you to effectively position your hotel or events to appeal to eco-conscious travellers and businesses.
This guide is tailored to simplify the process, enabling you to craft appealing, business-driven marketing and communication strategies that leverage environmental considerations as a competitive advantage.
A Strong and Effective Marketing Tool
In the pursuit of attracting eco-conscious travellers, ClimateScore badges serve as powerful marketing tools for hotels and events. With an increased emphasis on eco-consciousness and CO2 reduction among both guests and businesses, traditional “green” labels may fall short in accurately reflecting a hotel’s carbon footprint. The evolving business landscape places priority on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reports, signifying a shift from traditional financial reporting. This change underscores the rising demand from travellers, hotel guests, and meeting planners for climate-conscious hotels.
Driven by a commitment to reduce CO2 emissions, companies with traveling employees are turning to ESG reporting, underscoring the importance of selecting hotels with a high Climate Score®. Shifting employee hotel nights becomes a strategic move for companies aiming to significantly reduce their carbon footprint. ClimateScore badges and the Climate Score® itself play a crucial role in aligning businesses with the growing demand for eco-consciousness and sustainability in the hospitality industry.
General use guidelines
The vision of Climate Score® is to empower travellers to choose a climate-conscious stay. Ensuring the high validity and trustworthiness of the Climate Score® involves effective communication with the public, especially travellers, to minimize the risk of misinterpretation of the results.
Having a Climate Score® doesn’t automatically make a hotel sustainable. It showcases your eco-consciousness and commitment to reducing carbon – a crucial step toward a better future. Always remember: Your climate actions shape the world; it’s not the green marketing words you speak that make an impact.
The methodology targets an average guest spending 24 hours at the hotel, including all three daily meals and hotel activities. However, an individual may not spend the full 24 hours or engage in all activities, leading to varying impacts not necessarily equal to the estimated 24-hour guest equivalent impact. Read about the method
When displaying results to end-users, whether in score value or CO2e value, there must be included somewhere on the hotel’s own website an understandable scope explanation with reference to the Climate Score® methodology and a link for further details. ClimateScore will provide this information and reserves the right to periodically verify adherence to the established guidelines, available on ClimateScore.io. However, the ultimate responsibility lies with the sender.
Example of the correct use of the Climate Score® for a hotel on hotel’s website:
“The hotel achieved a Climate Score® result of 8.4 out of 10. This result is based on a life cycle assessment of an average hotel guest’s full-day stay, covering overnight stay, daytime activities, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and transit transportation. Long distance travel emissions, especially flights, are excluded, even though they are a significant contributor to climate change impacts.”
The hotel can further display the distribution of CO2 emission categories in its communication infrastructure, whether on the website or physically at the destination. This not only clarifies which activities emit the least CO2 but also enables end-users interested in a low carbon footprint on energy to make informed decisions based on this data.
Checklist for Marketing Materials
If this is your first time using ClimateScore Badges or the Climate Score® in your marketing materials, or if you’re uncertain whether your materials meet the guidelines, we recommend that you – individually or through your agency – submit the artwork for approval to the marketing team at [email protected]
Checklist for Marketing Materials:
Choose the Badge in Your Preferred Language: If you have both a Danish and an English version, opt for the English version for international recognition.
Balance the Prominence of Your ClimateScore Badge and Your Logo: Ensure clarity on which hotel or event has earned the badge and who the communication sender is.
Use Badges Only for Climate Scored Hotels and Events: Apply ClimateScore badges exclusively to materials related to Climate Scored hotels and events. Clearly indicate which hotels in the chain or collaboration have been climate scored. Never use the ClimateScore Badges in a manner that may confuse or mislead travellers.
Place the Relevant Climate Score® on Your Website: To help guests identify a Climate Scored hotel or event, display the badges on the respective pages of your website. Provide a clear explanation of which, if not all, hotels or events are climate scored. Feel free to refer to climatescore.io to read more.
Do Not Alter Badges or Climate Score®: Never alter the ClimateScore Badge or the Climate Score®, and refrain from attempting to create your own badge.
Choose Eco-Labelled Materials and Printing Companies: Opt for eco-labelled materials and printing companies whenever possible. If you intend to use ClimateScore badges in printed materials, ensure they are produced with eco-labelled material.
Above All: The Golden Rule!
The ClimateScore Badges or the Climate Score® must never be used in a way that is misleading and/or creates doubt or confusion about which hotel or event has been climate scored. This is essential for maintaining the credibility of the climate score® and the value of the brand.
Consider two things when producing your material:
Always balance the prominence of the ClimateScore badge and your own logo and identity. It must be clear who the sender of the communication is.
The placement of the ClimateScore badge depends on whether all hotels or events in the marketing material are Climate Scored or only some of them.
Option A: If all hotels or events in the marketing material have been climate scored, your badge can be the focus of the advertisement, and you can use the ClimateScore badge in all relevant aspects where you see fit.
Option B: If only some hotels or events in the marketing material are climate scored, the ClimateScore badge must be placed right next to the climate-scored hotel or event.
General Guidelines for Using the Logo and Badges
We recommend using the ClimateScore logo in green. If placed on a photo or patterned background, you can use the white logo for better visibility. For the ClimateScore Badges, they can only be used as designed by ClimateScore. Always use the ClimateScore badges and Climate Score® as provided by ClimateScore. Never create your own.
Naming of hotels or events with a ClimateScore Badge
When naming a Climate scored hotel or event, it is important to maintain a clear distinction between the hotel or event name and ClimateScore. You may refer to the hotel or event as being climate scored or use the ClimateScore badges achieved. However, you cannot use the term ClimateScore or Climate Score® (in any language) as an integrated part of a hotel or event name.
YES: Use the ClimateScore name or badges in sentences in your hotel/event description: (Hotel/event name) is committed to cutting carbon with ClimateScore.
NO: Don’t use it in the name: ClimateScore (Hotel/Event main name) Hotel.
Disclaimer, Responsibilities, and Misuse Information
These guidelines have been developed by ClimateScore. The right to use ClimateScore Badges in marketing material is only granted for Climate Scored hotels or events. The use of ClimateScore Badges in the communication of hotels not listed on “Find Hotel” on ClimateScore.io is not allowed. The current version of the guidelines can be found at ClimateScore.io.
Responsibilities:
The hotel or event owner is solely responsible for marketing and communication material. It is also the responsibility of the hotel or event owner to ensure that the marketing and communication material complies with national standards and legislation. The hotel or event owner is responsible for ensuring the correct use of ClimateScore Badges and that claims are accurate. ClimateScore does not take responsibility for any other certification, badge, or claims on the hotel or event.
Misuse of ClimateScore Badges:
In case of misuse of ClimateScore Badges, the following steps will be taken:
- The misuse will be reported and logged into a register by ClimateScore.
- The company misusing ClimateScore Badges will be contacted to investigate the misuse.
- Corrective actions will be required within a specified time frame, depending on the type of misuse, the media/channel, and the severity of the misuse.
- Follow-up actions will be conducted to ensure that the misuse has stopped or been corrected.
- If the misuse has not been corrected or stopped the hotel will loose it’s Climate Score® for the remainder of the year and forbidden to use it anywhere until at new score has been created the following year
Intellectual Property Rights:
The Climate Score® name is a trademark belonging to ClimateScore. Unauthorized use of the name is prohibited and will be treated as an infringement of intellectual property rights.
Use of ClimateScore Badges in Marketing Materials
The ClimateScore Badges or the Climate Score® must never be used in a way that is misleading or creates doubt or confusion about which hotel or event has been climate scored. This is essential for maintaining the credibility of the Climate Score® and the value of the brand.
Consider two things when creating your material:
- Always balance the prominence of the ClimateScore badge and your own logo and identity. It must be clear who the sender of the communication is.
- The placement of the ClimateScore badge depends on whether all hotels or events in the marketing material are Climate Scored or only some of them.
Option A: If all hotels or events in the marketing material have been climate scored, your badge can be the focus of the advertisement, and you can use the ClimateScore badge in all relevant aspects where you see fit.
Option B: If only some hotels or events in the marketing material are climate scored, the ClimateScore badge must be placed right next to the climate-scored hotel or event.
With that in place, you may use your ClimateScore Badges in:
- All types of ads: in magazines, newspapers, as advertorials, and on billboards/outdoor.
- All types of commercials and hotel/event videos: for TV, cinema, websites, or social media.
- On your website, e.g., a subpage describing your climate-scored hotel or event and highlighting the benefits of reducing carbon, for transparency, you may link to ClimateScore.io.
- All types of in-store/POS materials, such as displays, hangers, and posters. Either to highlight your climate-scored hotel or event or on the shelves/reception in a more permanent manner, making it easier for consumers to learn about your climate actions. Please consider using eco-labelled materials and producing POS materials that can be used multiple times to show your environmental responsibility.
- Brochures/catalogues: You can use the ClimateScore Badges in relation to your climate-scored hotel or event on all types of brochures and catalogues, either to highlight your climate-scored hotel or event or on the shelves/reception in a more permanent manner, making it easier for consumers to learn about your climate actions. Please consider using eco-labelled materials and producing print materials that can be used multiple times to show your environmental responsibility.
- Social media: Use the ClimateScore Badges to attract the attention of the growing share of eco-conscious travellers and companies. Connect with us on LinkedIn and remember to use #ClimateScore so we can follow your activities and interact to create more interest around your posts.
- Tradeshows and fairs: Use facts and core messaging about your Climate Score® and ClimateScore Badges when you communicate your hotel and event on trade shows and fairs.
- Press releases: Incorporate your Climate Score® and ClimateScore Badges into your PR activities. They serve as a competitive advantage and documentation for your environmental efforts, whether it involves a newly certified product, meeting increased demand for your environmentally friendly products, entering new markets, or addressing the needs of new target groups. If you intend to use your Climate Score® and ClimateScore Badges in a press release, ensure that the release refers to your Climate Scored hotel or event. We also recommend including a link to www.ClimateScore.io for information on methodology and Climate Score®.